Stuxnet

Another poll, another breathless doom and gloom prognostication. This time cyberwar is seen as top threat facing US:
Cyberwarfare is the most serious threat facing the United States, according to almost half of US national security leaders who responded to the inaugural Defense News Leadership Poll, underwritten by United Technologies.
If we skip over the details of the poll, some of it questionable due to the self-selection of the respondents (out of all the subscribers asked to respond to the survey only 9% did) and the slightly dubious truthfulness of the respondents to their actual ranks:

Iran: How a Third Tier Cyber Power Can Still Threaten the United States | Atlantic Council I read the SitRep so you don’t have to. Unless you have time for silliness. In which case maybe you can read some other situation report that’s done by actual intelligence analysts. Anyway, the paper starts off with an interesting premise: >But what if the response came in the form of an anonymous cyber attack that shut down the New York Stock Exchange for a few hours?

Ever since Stuxnet thundered on the global scene in the second half of 2010 the world has been awash with fresh doses of FUD. Slowly but surely calmer and more pragmatic heads are prevailing:
Stuxnet: It’s a real threat, but not something we should shovel money at - By Tom Ricks | The Best Defense
The correct response to Stuxnet is to acknowledge the risks of cyber war, but be discerning in our reaction. We must separate the sensational from the legitimate, and only invest in valid and practical strategies.